Outside
by keito-kyokun
Summary: JouxKaiba - yaoi slash, Enjoy :D More updates coming soon! IF YOU READ SOMETHING ON , PLEASE REVIEW - REVIEWS ARE LIKE FOOD TO US. AND WE'RE HUNGRY. VERY VERY HUNGRY. And it's only polite, after all :
1. I'm on the outside

_ This is the slightly tweaked and updated version of chapter one; I'm trying to update them all a bit before I continue on with the story. Thanks for the support!_**  
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Chapter 1**

"You had better take that back! Right now!!" the blonde's eyes flared madly in his flushed face, the boy just managing to hold himself back from leaping at the brunette before him.

"Why should I? We both know I let you win, inu," the taller boy replied coolly, composed with his trademark smirk firmly plastered upon his shadowed face. The blonde growled at the nickname and took a step forward, halving the distance between the two. The dark boy's smirk widened, seeing the other clench his fists and jaw, desperately fighting the urge to strike his opponent. He leant in slightly to look down at him, revelling in his advantageous height.

"Now, now inu" he said curtly, his voice patronising. "You shouldn't growl like that. Why don't you be a good puppy and behave your-" Predictably, the blonde snapped and dived at the man but felt someone grip his arms, holding him back.

"Calm down Jou!" Yugi's voice piped in his ear as he and Ryou held the barking blonde back. Jou momentarily felt compelled to turn round and rip them to shreds instead but his amber eyes were glued intently on the brunette's cold blue ones, currently lit with a vague sort of sadistic amusement. Jou snarled and stood back, shaking off his so called friends.

"I'll get you back, Kaiba" he spoke venomously, gifting the man with a scorching glare before turning swiftly on his heel and storming determinedly off down the corridor, tailed closely by Yugi. Kaiba watched him go, amusement still evident on his face. Although Seto Kaiba was known to be a 'lone-wolf' sort of fellow who was outwardly cold and distant and, yes, malicious, he seemed to have a queer fondness for picking fights with the light-hearted, hot-headed Jounouchi Katsuya. This particular argument had been triggered by a previous duel, which had itself been caused by an earlier disagreement between the two boys. Kaiba was a great duel monsters player, ranking among the country's top players, and could easily beat just about anybody dumb enough to challenge him into the dirt, with the rare exception of Yugi Mutou. Kaiba could only assume that the Halfling had bargained off his leg bones or something to the devil in exchange for unnatural duelling ability. Come on, no one wins with a Kuribo! During Kaiba and Jou's duel however, he had played along with the younger boy's skill, stretching the game on for over four hours before eventually letting it end in a draw. For some reason he loved to torment the boy and took up every opportunity as a personal challenge to do so. Not that it was much of a challenge at all really, Kaiba mused fondly; you call the kid a dog once and he barks off on his leash. Ryou's melodic voice interrupted Seto's thoughts.

"Why do you always wind him up like that Kaiba?" he asked, sounding as innocent and melodic as a baby deer that had just swallowed a church bell. His chocolate eyes practically swam at Kaiba under his white bangs sending an eerie shiver down the man's spine. A shrill bell rang and Kaiba shrugged at the unnerving creature before abruptly strolling down and away from the kid towards his next class, his long non-uniform, gravity-defying coat fanning out behind him.

* * *

Jou stormed into his literature class and harshly threw his rack sack unceremoniously under his desk collapsing into his usual chair, still feeling heated as he rested his chin upon folded arms. Yugi appeared a moment later, trying to catch his breath and frowning at his short legs while wondering in passing whether he had gotten the fuzzy end of the lollipop. Feeling slightly hungrier than before he shifted his attention to the blonde, now trying to sear a hole in the wallpaper.

"You shouldn't let him get to you," Yugi stated helpfully, taking the seat next to Jou who only scowled in response and continued to glare at the blank wall before him. "...a-and don't feel bad, you know Kaiba's practically the best duellist-"

"What?!" the blond sat up gruffly and stared at Yugi, eyes wide, "Why should I feel bad? It was a draw! …You think he went easy on me, is that it?"

"Um...eh, no..." the small boy took a little too long to reply. His best friend glared at him disbelievingly.

"You know what? Thanks Yugi thanks a bunch." Jou pouted spitefully, quickly scooping up his bag and barging past the teacher on his way out the class. The tri-colour haired boy sat staring after him for a moment frozen in shock before sighing and continuing to grasp around in his bag for something edible.

Half way down the corridor Jou slowed down, his initial burst of anger cooled enough for him to think. Great, now where was he meant to go? Definitely not back to the class, what would be the point, he's already out. He took a door to his left, the restrooms. Jounouchi splashed his face with some cold water, needing to calm down. Taking a deep breath he rested his hands on either side of the mirror above the sink. He looked at his reflection; a single crack was etched into the glass and across his mirrored face. Jou remembered how angry he'd been before, how easy he had been to crack; _but why?_ He mused to himself, sure he had a slight rep for being somewhat hot-headed, but for some reason it was always Kaiba that got him the most fired up. Both amber eyes closed and when they opened again the boy felt much calmer. He headed out the room, deciding to spend the remainder of the school day in the library; no one was allowed out of the building during classes so he'd just have to hide out there a while.

* * *

Kaiba stood up and stretched, working a painful cramp from his shoulders and legs. _Well that's what I get for staying here so long_, he thought as he watched the computer shut itself off. Pulling on his blue jacket Kaiba thrust his hands into his pockets and made his way out of his office and company building. The teen often had to work late shifts to make up for the time he spent attending school - at eighteen he was the youngest corporate sensation in history, having inherited Kaiba Corp. from his despised step-father, Gozaburo. His hands clenched at the mere thought of the man and he immediately tried to clear his mind, letting the breeze sweep the look of disgust from his face as he briskly strolled down the street.

* * *

Jounouchi yawned and decided to finally go home. As soon as school had ended he had gone to the arcade and had remained there as long as his lunch money for the week allowed, only leaving when he felt that his foul mood had been moderately lifted. Wrapping his navy school jacket tightly around him, Jou lowered his face to shelter it from the crisp cold wind as he departed for home. He didn't see the small group of guys until he practically walked into one of them.

"Heya Blondie, how've ya been?" a deep voice hinted with menace inquired. Jounouchi's head shot up with a ready comeback, but thought better of it when he saw who it was. Ushio and his little gang of renegade oafs. The teen looked defiantly up at the larger boy before trying to quickly pass by them. A thick hand shot out against his chest, pushing him back until he stood before them again. Despite how uneasy he felt, the look of defiance returned to Jou's face as he met his aggressors' eyes steadily. The teen suddenly remembered a time when he had been just like this bully, tormenting those weaker than him; the memory caused a wave of shame to nibble through him. He was so glad he had managed to escape from that miserable existence.

Ushio began to slowly pace a circle around him but Jou made sure he never left his field of vision.

"Well? You didn't answer me Blondie..." Ushio continued. The boy's hands became tight fists that hung alert at his sides, expecting a blow at any moment. He and Ushio had been rivals, but that was now in the past. Jou never even spoke to him anymore, not wanting to be sucked back to who he used to be. The bully gradually reappeared in front of him and began to walk another circle, his half-witted cronies spaced out, blocking any means of escape.

"...I hear you've gone soft, is it true? Hanging out with the other _children, _at _school_? With that pathetic Mutou kid, and B-, B-something - the little blond runt?" Ushio put an emphasis on the words, causing the others to grin as an involuntary redness rose in Jou's composed face, his eyes still trailing the bully as he vanished behind him again. He just stood there, determined not to speak. He had nothing to say to them; or at least nothing witty enough to warrant getting his face broke. Ushio laughed cruelly.

"But then again, you always were, soft."

Jou's keen ears picked up a shuffle come from behind him and he tensed up, ready to defend himself. Suddenly, a voice on his right exclaimed;

"Think fast!"

Jounouchi, quick as lightning spun in its direction and immediately saw his mistake, only a fraction of a second before Ushio's fist pelted into his ribs from the left, winding him. Oldest trick in the book really, Jounouchi had half a mind to hit himself for falling for it. The boy gasped in pain and clutched a hand to his side, but his earlier years had trained him not to fall down during a fight; once you were down, you were as good as dead.

Jou's other hand shot out repeatedly, striking a few blows and succeeding in hurling one of the guys against a wall, but it was a small victory as the rest of the boys pelted him mercilessly from all sides. After several minutes his torso hurt so much that he couldn't stop himself from collapsing. Bent over double he rested his forehead on the cold grey pavement, moaning. The blows rapidly subsided, but that was only because the lead bully wanted the fun for himself.

"See what you've become, eh?" he commented to the hurt boy before spitting down at him. The small crowd laughed at the scene. Jou felt completely humiliated, bitterly taking small consolation in the idea that it was quite likely he won't have to live with the feeling very long.

"You're weak" Ushio told the crumpled figure, then shot a hard kick at his side causing his arms and legs to give way, leaving him sprawled on the ground. He heard a jeering response from his 'playmates' and Ushio promptly aimed another kick, this time at that blonde head.

Just as the strike was about to fall a commanding voice made him freeze and sent a tremor through his body at the sheer growling tone of it. He looked down the narrow alley, at the figure silhouetted there, its long coat flaring out like a cape.

"Touch him again, and you'll have to deal with me," the bold voice smirked, "...go on, I _dare _you..."


	2. I'm looking in

**A/N: Yay! I'm actually getting reviews!! thank you to everyone who's reading this, and I hope you like the chapter – if you don't then please leave some suggestions via review :)**

**Thanx again! Oh, and btw 'inu' means 'dog' in case anyone was wondering.**

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**Outside**

**Chapter 2**

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Kaiba stood at one end of the dimly lit alley, watching the Mutt's discussion with his former gang mates. He had been on his way home when he heard the incident begin, and for some unbeknown reason had stopped to observe. He witnessed the attack on Jou and his fighting tactics – or rather the lack of them. _Stupid Mutt,_ he thought as the blond pivoted the wrong way and was taken down. He saw him fall, defeated, but rather than continuing on and leaving his rival to his war something within him forced the brunette to step forward and put an end to it. Kaiba approached swiftly but silently, and intervened just before the crucial blow was to fall.

"Touch him again, and you'll have to deal with me," the bold voice smirked, "...go on, I _dare _you..."

Ushio quickly regained his composure and smirked menacingly at the mystery figure A/N: O.o whoever could it be??...;) .

"Oh yea?" he asked mockingly, punctuating his words with another heavy kick at the blonde's spine, causing him to grunt in an attempt to hold back a cry. "Come on boys, time to teach this guy a lesson."

"Ha, big mistake pal."

"Oh really?" the larger teen grinned. "And why might I ask do you seem so confident?"

Kaiba's eyes flashed with dark amusement.

"Simple. There's one of me, and only 6 of you."

Ushio rushed at him angrily but stumbled when he realised the figure had vanished, in utter confusion until hard knuckles collided with his back and sent him facedown into the pavement.

Jounouchi surveyed the scene through the terrible pain he felt, from his fallen position. He watched in astonishment as Kaiba's form moved with skilled precision and unbelievable speed. Minutes later the entire gang lay crumpled on the floor and the brunette was left standing, catching his breath, fists clenched.

The Mutt attempted to speak, but only got as far as "Ka-" before bursting into a series of lunging coughs.

* * *

"Ka-"

Kaiba's attention flicked to the crumpled figure as it began a wrenching cough. He grunted at him and took a step forward, frowning. A noise other than the wheezing coughs startled him, head spinning round in time to see one of the dazed teens half lift himself up and focus on another group of characters that had appeared at the far end of the alley. He managed to call out to them before being once again knocked unconscious by a swift kick from the rather pissed CEO. Kaiba grunted again in irritation as the gang noticeably increased their pace.

"Get up, there's more of them coming." He looked down at the Mutt, who had stopped coughing but still slumped on the ground. Kaiba cast another look at the advancing group. "I _said_, get up!"

The blond attempted to support himself but collapsed.

"Oh for Gods-"

The brunette practically growled before gruffly, yet easily, lifting him one-armed by a shoulder and forcefully dragging him in the opposite direction, earning a slight yelp from the pup. They reappeared on the main street and Kaiba pressed them both into a concealed crook between two buildings to escape their pursuers, one hand clasped over the Mutt's mouth to silence his moaning.

"They're gone…" Kaiba stopped as he noticed that Jou's body was being supported entirely by him. _Ah dammit! I manage to save the baka from being beaten to death and suffocate him instead!_ He withdrew the hand that had been clasped over the boy's face, eyes flying open in shock upon seeing the sputter of crimson liquid on his palm. Kaiba thought a moment; he'd have a first aid kit at his office, and that was only a few streets away. Grunting, he began the trek to Kaiba Corp, muttering curses to himself.

* * *

Jou's eyes blinked groggily to reveal his blurred vision. His whole body throbbed dully but he felt a cool soothing sensation pouring over the left half of his chest. A small light illuminated the figure by his side that was now busy bandaging his torso. Jounouchi's sight slowly filtered to reveal Seto Kaiba's face, his brow furrowed in concern as he bandaged his charge. Perhaps it was just bruising, but the blond's skin seemed to tingle whenever the other's cool fingertips brushed against it's surface, now tracing other bruises and punctures in the boy's flesh. Realising this Jou shot up on the couch, but instantly cried out and collapsed again, half blinded by the sudden light as pain shot through his body. Kaiba was taken aback, and when he recovered his composure the expression on his face had morphed back into one of not-so-discreet annoyance.

"Baka. Do you _want_ to tear those bandages off?" he growled defensively.

Jou moaned again before trying to speak, but instead he began coughing again, throat dry. Kaiba sighed irritably as he pushed a glass of water into the patient's hand. The blond downed it gratefully and started to wonder why the scowling CEO was helping him – but he stopped almost immediately as the pain in his head flourished. Withdrawing the glass, he noted with shock that little droplets of blood littered his hand.

"…what the…?" he groaned painfully.

"Several of your ribs are bruised, but it isn't too serious. I doubt the blood is coming directly from your lungs so it should stop within a day or two."

Jou stared at him with still retained shock and managed to croak -

"You _doubt_?"

"Yes. I do not have extensive medical training, but I'm fairly sure." Kaiba's eyes flickered momentarily, having just realised that he was being civil to the boy. He got up quickly and walked to the window, looking out over the neon and twilit city. Jounouchi sat up, more carefully this time, and found that his body was aching through and through. It suddenly hit him that he was bare from the waist up, his face flushed slightly in the dim room. Right, now he was confused; but dwelling on anything just then simply caused his head to hurt more, so he stopped trying. He remembered the fight and attempted to break the awkward silence.

"…um, thank you…" he said uncertainly, and was answered by a barely audible grunt from the brunette. He glanced at the oversized clock that hung above a large oak desk.

"1 AM! I've been here-"

"- 5 hours, give or take."

Jou looked more confused and shocked than before. _Why – wait, is this Kaiba's office? Why did he…ow! _The headache overpowered him again. _Jeez, alright, alright…_

"I brought you to here because it was near. The building was closed for the day so I had to…tend, to your wounds." Kaiba explained in a monotone, having apparently read his mind.

The blond frowned.

"Why didn't you just call the hospital?...Actually, how come you helped me at all?"

The CEO took a moment to reply, and when he did his voice seemed somewhat…hurt?

"Oh that's right, I'm completely heartless aren't I? I was supposed to just let them kill you??" He spun to glare at the other _– wait, what's wrong with me?_ He sighed dejectedly and covered his face with a hand. "D-doesn't matter. Now that you're awake you can go, Mutt."

The Inu frowned, the nickname having no apparent impact.

"..Okay- ah!" He froze, whimpering as he gently felt the swelling on his spine. Kaiba strolled over, picking up a tub of cream and tossing it to Jounouchi.

"It's an anaesthetic, it'll make it hurt less."

The blond fumbled with it for a bit, irritating Kaiba, until-

"_What_ are you doing?"

The boy wiggled around again.

"I can't reach." He replied, an adorable puzzled look on his face as he continued to wriggle. Kaiba almost laughed. _Baka Inu_…

"Baka Inu," he spoke, tugging the tub from his grasp and twisting the lid off.

"I'm not an Inu" Jou muttered.

"Turn round." The brunette ordered, then gently massaged the cool soothing cream onto the great bruise, soft fingers lightly tickling the boy's back and causing him to shiver. Another unseen blush rose to his cheeks and he grew rigid in an attempt to stop the uncontrollable trembling that seemed to have conquered him.

"Keep still. There." Kaiba stood immediately to put away the tub before picking up the Mutt's jacket and shirt and throwing them to him. He maintained the professional superior tone. "Come."

Jou narrowed his eyes at him as he strolled out the door.

"Hey, I'm not a dog ya know!"

Kaiba's voice echoed from down the hall, though it sounded more teasing than anything, followed by a call whistle.

"Come!"

The Inu pouted as he hurried to catch up, pulling his clothes on in the process – he noticed that his body hurt much less now. Who knew Kaiba could act so, friendly?

"Hey!"

"What?"

"I am _not_ a dog!"

"Whatever you say…" Kaiba tousled the blond's hair, causing him to blush again as he jogged to keep up with the CEO's long stride. "…Mutt."

What was happening then was beyond weird, but by that point both of them were either too tired or too something to care.

* * *

After locking up the building the two teens walked down the street together, pausing at the end to say good night. Who would've thought, eh? ;)

"- All the more reason for you to have a leash." Kaiba got in the last word in their pointless discussion as they came to a stop. As they turned towards each other their eyes met and they stood linked for a minute, a strange constricting apprehensive feeling expanding in their chests. Of course, naïve as they both were they completely mistook the new emotion for something completely different and innocent. Completely, despite the deep flush that was once again dominating Jou's face; Kaiba's was unnoticeably tinted, thank god.

The brunette smirked and gently clipped the Mutt's chin with a finger.

"Go home, Mutt."

The Inu's face was concealed only by the night, which he was extraordinarily thankful for. His face fell a little, however.

"Right, home…thank you Kaiba." Wow, now there's something I never thought I'd say. He turned for home.

"Night, Mutt"

An astonished Jounouchi turned round, but the CEO was already half way down the street. He smirked; the day was just full of surprises.

"Nite, Kaiba."

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**A/N: Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter – although I think it went a little boring and pear shaped – nonetheless, tell me what you think!**

**#-Keito-#**


	3. I can see through you

**A/N: Wehey, see that? I'm updating! this might actually end up being the first complete fic I've written! :) …hmm, better not tempt fate…**

**Please tell me what you think of this story, and indeed chapter – personally methinks I rushed it a bit, or did something along those lines…well, hope you like it! And a big thank you goes out to everyone that's read this so far!! :)**

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**Outside**

**Chapter 3**

Jounouchi shut the door of his locker with a click. He wearily leant his head forward against it and flinched as he readjusted his rucksack. Every inch of him either stung or burnt and screamed at his every motion.

"Hey man!" Hiroto Honda greeted, slapping his friend on the back. The blond practically collapsed and a small cry escaped his lips before he could suppress it. He immediately attempted a cover-up, ignoring his body's continuous commands to pass out.

"Ah- hello! G-good morning!" He exclaimed through gritted teeth. The brunette didn't seem convinced in the least, a worried expression appearing on his face.

"Hey, you alright?" he peered intently at Jou's face as the blond feigned a smile – if he could just act like nothing was wrong he'd be fine; luckily any evidence of the events from the previous night were in places that could be easily covered either by clothing or his rugged hair.

"Yea, I'm fine! Just…really tired," he yawned unconvincingly. "See?"

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A pair of steady blue eyes watched the Mutt from somewhere down the hall. They saw how he unwittingly flinched with every step, and how Honda and Yugi exchanged nervous glances behind his back. It pained Kaiba to see him like this. The brunette sighed and walked purposefully towards the group.

* * *

Jou saw the CEO approach, and instantly thought of the night before; how was he meant to act around him now? During the night he had gone over the events in his mind, and had emerged utterly confused. He had finally decided to wait and see how the other would behave. 

"Get out of my way, Mutt."

If Jounouchi was expecting anything, it wasn't for Kaiba to growl his usual icy orders at him. He took a step back as the other pushed past him; despite how hard the shove appeared, he only felt a slight push to his left shoulder – one of the very few places on him that was not black and blue. Something small and hard was pushed into the Mutt's chest; Jou looked down towards it, confused. The object pressed harder and Jou's hand reached up slowly, fingers enclosing around the container as Kaiba finally walked on, muttering -

"…Baka…"

Jounouchi looked down at his hand discreetly; it was a pill box, an extra strong painkiller by the look of it.

"Jou…?"

He stuffed the tablets hastily into his pocket and turned back to grin at Yugi.

"Yea! Um, I think the bell's about to go, we'd better get to class else we'll be late."

His friends gaped at him in disbelief. Yugi finally spoke.

"Erm, there's still 5 minutes left – and since when do _you_ care if you're late?"

"5 minutes? Right, I'll catch you in registration!" Jou grinned, apparently taking no notice of his friend's response as he sped up the corridor.

* * *

The Mutt leant against the bathroom wall as he read an inscription on the side of the pill-bottle. Morphine. 

"…What the? Trust them to make this complicated…" he reread the section labelled 'dosage' but found that it was not specified and included many confusing words ending in things like –ium and –tion. _Well, with paracetamols and stuff I usually take two, but these are pretty small…_ he tipped several small yellow tablets onto his palm. He shrugged and picked out three, returning the rest to the bottle and replacing it in his pocket. He realised he didn't have anything to drink on him and shrugged again. _I'll be damned if I drink outta one of those_, he glanced briefly at the taps. He knocked back the three bitter tasting pills, dry-swallowing them.

"Jou, what are you doing?" Yugi's voice questioned from behind him. Jou turned to face the tri-colour haired boy.

"Ah, painkillers – I've got a headache. Like I said, didn't get much sleep last night; gotta stop watching those late night flicks, heh?" He grinned in what he thought to be a convincing manner, dragging the short boy from the room as a shrill bell rang out.

* * *

It was 5 minutes into first period, English, and the teacher, a short chubby woman with shrewd criticising features, was sat at her desk waiting for the class to become silent. Yugi, Honda and Ryou meanwhile sat clustered around their blond friend, attempting to restrain him as he swung back and forth in his chair in fits of uncontrollable giggles. Yes, giggles. 

"Ahahaha!! Your-your hair's pink! And black, and yellow!!" he exclaimed between bursts of laughter as he gestured wildly at his friend's hair.

"Jou! What's wrong with you?!"

"AHAHAHA!!!"

Kaiba sat across the class, one hand draped over his face. _Baka Inu…_

"Oh woah! Look at the ceiling! It's so-"

"Jou!!"

The three friends cried, jumping to their feet as their blond friend tumbled backwards on his chair, his head colliding with the corner of a table with an audible smack. Jou raised to his feet, supported by his friends.

"What? Oh I- I hit my head? Haha! Man, that was _stupid_! Wha- yea, I'm _fine_…"

Jounouchi was blatantly completely out of it. Luckily, the teacher had noticed this last incident and called out for silence before sending the boy to the nurses office, despite his continuous rants about being 'fine'.

"_Now_, Katsuya."

The blond stumbled across the room, ricocheting repeatedly off of desks and eventually walking into the doorframe, to which he muttered-

"Sorry, excuse me…"

-and finally exiting into the corridor; and walking off in the wrong direction. Yugi and Honda got up to run after their friend, but Kaiba had made it to the door first, glancing back at the teacher.

"Yes, Mr Kaiba, I think you should ensure he gets to the nurses office-"

The brunette was gone from the room before she'd finished the sentence.

"But-" Yugi and Honda began simultaneously.

"You two can sit down, or would you rather we discuss those 'Moulin Rouge' essays that were due in last week?"

"-sitting!" the two exclaimed, doing so.

* * *

"I _said_, sit down!" Kaiba ordered, sifting through his bag for a flask as the blond sat on the cold floor against a bathroom wall. The CEO quickly unfastened the lid and thrust it into his hands.

"Drink." He commanded, helping tip the cool liquid down the Mutt's throat. He noticed Jou jerk a few times, and tilted him over a toilet bowl; within minutes he was violently sick, Kaiba helping support him. It was over rather quickly - fortunately the Mutt hadn't had much to eat beforehand. The brunette forced him to drink a lot more water, whilst absently lecturing him on doses.

"You're supposed to have had one every four hours! Not - how many did you take?"

"…3…" the blond replied gruffly, finally managing to push the flask away.

"3! Oh god, and what did you have them with?"

"…nothing, I had had to drys-" he was interrupted by a swift hit to the back of his head.

"Baka! You can't dry-swallow morphine! Or take it in large doses! You are fortunate we were able to get rid of it so soon. The effects will wear off in 20-30 minutes. Until then, _sit down_. And _drink_."

Jounouchi grunted in response but did as he was told, now feeling a strong headache coming on. The other sat down beside him with a sigh, watching him. He sighed.

"At least you're being obedient, Mutt."

* * *

Lunch came about and Jou was free of all traces of the harsh painkiller, though it did leave him with a throbbing headache. His friends were still wary of his severely odd behaviour but tried to not show it around him. They approached Kaiba and Ryou, who stood idly loitering by their lockers. As the group began to chat, Ryou noticed that the normally talkative Jou was being uncharacteristically silent, a slight frown on his face, and asked whether he was alright.

"Oh, I'm fine," Jou replied before casting a silent glare at Kaiba, "just feel a little off, ya know? Like someone _poisoned_ me."

He didn't know why he said it, perhaps the headache and his overall current state were having an impact on his behaviour, making him more edgy. The CEO smirked next to him, saying in an undertone;

"Well maybe you should take self-defence classes Mutt..."

Jou seemingly snapped and shouted at the taller boy, earning bewildered stares from all of his friends.

"I don't need you to protect me!"

"Well it certainly didn't seem that way yesterday." Kaiba kept his voice low, then turned to leave.

"Don't you turn away from me!" Jou growled, using one hand to spin him back round and the other to land a hard punch into his face. Kaiba snarled as he felt a thin trickle of blood ooze down to his lips, and struck out with one hand – swooping it around the Mutt's head and striking his back. The blow was hardly a powerful one, but hit the large swollen bruise along the blond's spine; causing him to cry out through gritted teeth and collapse on the floor. The brunette looked at the wincing teen with a knowing expression.

"What the hell was that about?" demanded a distressed Honda, glaring at Kaiba as he stepped between the battling teens. The CEO opened his mouth to reply when a pair of pleading amber eyes shot up at him, silently begging him not to tell. They held the gaze for a moment; those eyes seemed to burn with a flood of unshed tears, with raw emotion. The brunette finally shook his head and muttered something before walking briskly away and leaving the group bewildered in his wake. Jounouchi looked down at the floor with a sudden pang of guilt.

* * *

"I'll see you guys tomorrow, k? I've gotta wait for Serenity." Jou bid farewell to his friends. He looked around; he could have sworn Kaiba was just standing against that wall over there. Turning again, he was startled to find the tall CEO standing before him.

"Kaiba, I-"

The taller teen took a few more steps forward, causing Jounouchi to back up until he was pressed against a wall bordering the school. The blond's eyes were wide and staring and he could feel himself begin to tremble as he felt how close they were, almost touching. Almost.

"You didn't even tell them."

Jou stammered.

"w-what-"

"You didn't tell the others what happened last night. Aren't 'friends' supposed to be there for each other? Aren't you meant to trust them?"

Jounouchi stood speechless, the only thing he seemed able to concentrate on was Seto Kaiba's face, merely a centimetre or two away. For some reason he could feel himself drawing closer to the other as his eyes half-lidded themselves, wanting to feel more than just the tantalizingly warm breath upon his face. Jou subconsciously drifted up onto his toes to correspond with the floating sensation inside his chest, trying to match the brunette's height. The other sighed a gentle flush onto his features; they were now two, perhaps three millimetres apart.

"I'm not even touching you and you're trembling." Kaiba spoke in a husky whisper, causing the blond to gulp, his mouth suddenly dry. "I can see straight through your tough guy act."

The brunette stepped away and Jounouchi felt as if he'd been released from some enticing spell, but also as though he'd just lost something. He was suddenly overwhelmed with anguish and clasped his hands to his head, slowly sliding down the brick wall until he crouched against it.

"I didn't ask for your help, I could've handled it myself…" he muttered rather weakly.

"Ha." Kaiba replied bluntly.

"I could have!" he retorted defiantly. "Anyway, since when do _you_ care what happens to me?"

For a moment all was silent, part from the light birdsong that hung in the air. The blond felt Kaiba rest a hand on his shoulder and lightly run it up the side of his neck once and back down to his shoulder, making the boy's head to turn instinctively towards the motion and startle a flutter in his chest with a gasp.

"I guess you just don't know how precious something is, until it's almost taken from you…"

Jounouchi looked up curiously, not to mention completely obliviously, and gazed into the brunette's deep blue eyes. Was that compassion within them?

Kaiba smirked bitter-sweet and lightly ruffled the blond's hair.

"Forget it…" he spoke, walking away, leaving the bewildered Mutt, well, bewildered.

"Jou! Jou! KATSUYA!...gets out 10 minutes before me and _still_ manages to be late _everyday_…_KATSUYA!!"_ Serenity's unmistakable voice pierced clear through the air, snapping Jou from his trance as he hurriedly stumbled back into the school grounds.

* * *

…**well, hope you enjoyed that, I'll try to post again soon (man these seem a lot longer on paper, ne?). And yea, Jounouchi does seem rather thick at the minute, but give him a break, the poor ditzy blond…**

**Keito**

**Btw – check out 'Heartache' by Xenon Zebra's, tis fab! Um, I think she's reviewed this story so there'll be a link to her account in the reviews bit. Thanx!**


	4. See your true colours

**Hello everyone! I'm so so sorry that i've not updated for this long, but i'm glad you peoples have bared with me #yes, 'bared' IS a word...# Well anyhoo, this chapter's about 1/2 the size it was originally meant to be - i cut it short due to lack of determination or whatever. So i've got the next ickle bit planned out #sorta# so hopefully i'll update soon, k? Please let me know what you think of this, cos it seems to sorta fluctuate O.o...anyway, on with the story!**

**Oh, by the way...the InuYasha soundtrack rocks! Minna no Kimochi! #cough# sorry...**

****

**Chapter 4**

The sky was painted a deep velvet blue, with occasional charcoal clouds that pursued eachother across the last amber streaks of sunset. Several glowing gems had already become visible when a boy's stray figure arrived outside the silhuette of a small, deceptively neat bungalow. The tinkling sounds as he shuffled for his keys echoed the crystal stars. Numb fingers worked to push the key through the lock but the front door drifted open itself upon turning the handle, and he stumbled inside. Figures, Jou thought, he's passed out cold in a house with unlocked doors. Cupping his hands over his mouth the blond breathed on them to try and bring back the feeling the chill January air had stolen away.

"Back from our little escapades, are we Katsuya?"

Jounouchi shut his eyes momentarily and swore to himself; so the old man was not out cold. He sighed, knowing full well that his father was bordering blind-drunk, despite his remarkably coherent speech; although he could not prevent the slight undertonal slur from betraying his condition. Perhaps it was that which notified the teen of his current state; then again, it could have been the various empty liqour bottles scattered over the luminal floor, the acrid smell that was a mixture of alcohol and stale vomit, or the fact that it was the same everyday. Well, almost everyday - normally, the father-figure of the house would already be unconcious - or semi so.

The Mutt's father continued in a sickly ill-omened voice.

"Back from, from getting drunk with your little friends?"

Jou replied in a calm monotone, suggesting that this wasn't something he was unused to.

"I've come straight home from school, and i'm not old enough to buy alcohol."

It was true, school had finished barely an hour ago; perhaps the early dark was confusing to the drunken fool. Jou's father suddenly jumped up in anger, his mood changing with the wind; the blonde had barely enough time to hop aside before an empty liquor bottle shattered against the wall. Jounouchi panted in alarm at the unprovoked action, looking to his right where the bottle had struck over a metre away, momentarily thankful that his father wasn't in a more able condition to aim.

"You. Little. Thief." The older man hissed, a trail of foamy liquid trickling down his chin and onto his stained checkered shirt. "Stealing a bottle of gin, thought i wouldn't notice! Oh, and then, then you come staggering in in the middle of the night!"

Jounouchi retained his distance as his father absently staggered, clumsily feeling around the floor with a long arm for another projectile weapon. Picking up several bottles, he lashed out again, aiming the glass at his son inbetween every sentence.

"You and your retarded little criminal friends-_throw_- I bet you're in a cult aswell, with all that fucked up egyptian voodoo crap-_chuck_- You're a fucking imbecile-_hurl_- I should throw you out on your knees you little bastard-_hurl_-"

The blonde ducked upon the last throw, surprised when it actually just narrowly missed his head. His father paused a moment as if concidering something, although it was more probably because he'd just ran out of ammo. He glared at Jou through glazed eyes.

"Get out! Get the fuck out you little-"

The boy needed no convincing. Yanking the front door open and pulling it shut in an instant. He sighed, wiping the back of a hand as he noticed that a shard of glass had scraped it. He sighed again, brushing dirty blonde hair from his eyes; it looked like it was gonna be 'one of those' days. A shiver went through the blond as a chill wind blew, and he made his way briskly to the side of the house, leaping up off the brick wall of the house and lifting himself up onto the garage roof in a single fluent motion. Jou flinched slightly as his aching body voiced its complaint, but knelt down at his window, which was conveniently located just above the garage. He crouched down and reached a hand deep under the thatched roof cover, increasingly numb fingers trying to coax out the small silver key he'd hidden there; with his father often like this, Jou being thrown out wasn't an uncommon occurance. His fingers enclosed around the familiar object and he drew it out, fiddling it into the old hatch lock on the chipped wooden frame. Turning the key he gently persuaded the window open, much to its reluctance, and swung a leg inside.

"Resorted to breaking into houses, Mutt?"

Jounouchi shut his eyes in prayer; why, why of all people did _he _have to show up? The 'Mutt' was definately in no mood for the egotistical CEO just then.

"Honestly, even I didn't think you'd be so mongr-"

"Shut it!"

The blond silenced Kaiba by swifty hurling his shoe down, hitting the brunette in the chest whilst managing to unbalance himself and topple in through the window and into his room. The scene remained still and silent for a moment, until Jou's somewhat feeble voice spoke out from his room.

"Um, Kaiba? Could you like, pass me that shoe back?"

No response. Jounouchi frowned and got up, making his way to the window - when said shoe flew through aforementioned window and struck said boy in the eye. The boy grunted angrily and shot back to his window, an insult ready on his lips - but the brunette was now nowhere to be seen, with nothing but an echo of "Baka Mutt..." residing into the night to suggest he was ever there. Jou frowned and cursed to himself. Giving up, he strode across his room muttering small curses at Kaiba, and proceeded to lean against the cabinet beside his door and push it across the door with his back. Finished, he flexed his shoulder muscles to massage away leftover pain from his bruises, thinking that he really ought to get a lock for that door. Finished, the boy was hit by sudden exhaustion, and collapsed atop his bed fully clothed.

* * *

Jounouchi swore, voilently flinging the locker door shut as he answered back at the CEO.

"For your information, i feel a hell of a lot better today! Or atleast i did before you-"

Kaiba smirked, cutting the blonde off.

"Glad to hear it, Mutt. Later."

Kaiba strolled away down the hall, once again leaving a bewildered Jounouchi in his wake. The bell rang, making the blonde curse again and run off after Kaiba, towards his first class.

* * *

"Therefore, to solve these inequalities one must first accumulate the solution of integers-"

_-blah blah blah; who the hell made maths compulsary anyways? _Jounouchi slumped forward ungracefully in his chair, one hand supporting his head, now hovering about two inches off the desk. His eyes drearily blinked from the blank wall before him to the plain white clock above the door. Twenty minutes left. Jou yawned and folded his arms on his desk, resting his head on top. Frankly he thought it a miracle he was still awake, considering how early he'd had to get up to climb out his window unnoticed. It's not so much that he was worried of his father catching him, which is unlikely in itself as he only ever awakes after midday, but he didn't like the pitying looks the neighbours would pout at him as he clambered half-asleep from the building.

The blonde shifted his gaze from the marker crawling lazily across the whiteboard, wondering who the hell had even invented cumulative graphs and not even daring to fathom what they were, when his eyes fell on something far more interesting. Or rather, someone.

Kaiba sat far back in his chair, his long outstretched legs knotted at the shins and one arm straight, his wrist resting on the edge of his desk. He looked the spitting image of Seto Kaiba, CEO, Mr. Too-Good-For-Anyone, cold and ruthless. Jou's amber eyes continued to study him. The brunette was consistently staring at the board, blue eyes following the blue marker as it danced loops across it. His dark hair though seemed a little ruffled and hung down unevenly across his forehead, somehow conveying that he wasn't paying the slightest attention to the lesson at hand. Fingers retracted and ran through his hair, and Jou's gaze followed them as they grasped a pencil and began twirling it absently. Seto Kaiba, CEO, Mr. Too-Good-For-Anyone, cold and rthless; but wasn't he the same person that came to his aid when he needed him? That then brought medicine in for him, so that he didn't hurt so much? The blonde smirked, _yea, even if it did just about poison me. It was my fault anyways, but... _His thoughts drifted off and he frowned. Why had Kaiba been outside his house last night? He didn't live anywhere near there, and even if he did he wouldn't have been walking. Did, did he go to check up on him? Jounouchi continued to watch, fascinated as the pencil flew up and twirled through the air before being caught effortlessly by the tips of two fingers that began to impossibly spin it again. He always acts so high and mighty, but perhaps thats all it is; an act.

Suddenly, the sapphire eyes flicked to Jou's face, as if they had known he was watching all along, giving him a questioning glare. For the first time, Jou held the gaze, his lips tugging up at one corner in an amused smirk and his eyes smiling softly. The CEO's glare held true several more moments, before Seto smiled back.

**

* * *

**

**END of that chapter. God, i _know _it twas crap but i'm currently attempting to chisel my way through this writer's block, so please help! 'How?' you ask? Why, by leaving a review ofcourse! ...meh, tis alright - even if you're not gonna continue reading this (which btw i would not blame you for :P) still leave a final review, koi? Hell, i gotta improve somehow! And for those of you who, for some nbeknownst reason, are gonna continue reading this fic, i'd like to say: i'm super grateful: ) and, that i'll update asap, though how long that is no one knows...**

**buh bye thank you!**

**-#keito#-**

**(btw, advice much appreciated!)**


	5. Leave You Far Behind

**Outside**

**Chapter 5**

****

"Why've you brought me here, Mutt?" Kaiba smirked and his gaze temporarily fell on a nearby flowerbed, on the upturned earth. "Dug up a bone? Or did you just need to go for a walk?"

The blonde ignored him, dropping his bag to the ground and settling comfortably at the foot of the old calloused tree, crossing his hands behind his head, against the rough bark. He casually watched the other.

" 'One can always be kind to people for whom one cares nothing.' "

Kaiba looked at him, cocking an eyebrow.

"Oscar Wilde." Jou stated, knowledgeably.

Kaiba glanced away at the school; inside there, inside the quads, Jounouchi's friends would be sitting, he knew, and wondering where the Mutt could be. He turned back to him now, and say that the boy was still looking at him, as if expecting something. Kaiba ran a hand through his slightly dishevelled hair.

"Where'd you pick that up? I wasn't aware they let dogs in the library."

Jou remained still and unphazed, watching the CEO calmly as he tossed back an unnecessary reply.

"Drop the dog jokes, Kaiba, I-"

"What's your point, Mutt."

"My point _is_," he stretched, and stated bluntly; "you like me."

----------------------------------

Kaiba froze, suddenly finding himself gripped like a vice and showered with needles. What did he just-

"_What?_" He choked out stiffly.

"Well, the quote; basically, if you don't like someone, you just ignore them - and not waste your precious time constantly picking fights with them. Therefore, I deduce, that _you _like me."

Kaiba released the breath he'd been holding. Allowing himself no more than a moment to recover, lest his companion became suspicious, he reassumed his usual calm demeanour. He sauntered a few paces forward to quickly and roughly ruffle Jou's hair like a dog's. His eyes gazed in disinterest at the school.

"Cunning little Pup, aren't we?-"

Jounouchi hit the hand away and jumped to his feet angrily, bringing himself to his full height to glare at the brunette intimidatingly; of course, the fact that he was at least half a head shorter than the CEO didn't help.

"I thought I told you to quit it with the dog jokes! And this is exactly what I mean - as soon as someone comes close to actually _liking _you, you push them away!"

"You're deluded."

"Am not."

"You're annoying!"

"_You like me! Admit it!"_

The two stood inches apart, Kaiba glaring down as the Mutt strained to do the same from below. The brunette closed his eyes, massaging the bridge of his nose with thumb and forefinger. He stepped away, lowering his voice as he spoke to himself.

"For god's sake, I never thought I'd ever have this conversation…"

"Especially with me, right?"

He looked at the blonde. Jou's voice had been quiet, not angry…maybe…a little hurt? Kaiba looked in the eyes set under the boy's lingering frown, his grimly set mouth. He sighed in defeat.

"Look, okay, so maybe I don't hate you. But like is definitely too strong a word. Happy?"

Jou raised an eyebrow cynically, but for once decided to drop the matter at that. He smiled happily, melting Kaiba just a little inside. A bell sounded, somewhere in the background.

"C'mon," Jou said good-naturedly, cuffing his newly labelled 'friend' on the arm and heading for the building. _Maybe this won't be so bad, after all. _"…pal!"

_Baka Mutt…_

---------------------------------------------------------

Kaiba sighed in relief, finally settling down away from everyone, everything. He was currently perched on the school roof, sitting near enough to the wire metal fence to see the surrounding grounds. It was pretty high up, but he was used to it, as he stood leaning back a little on the brick pillar that jutted up from the school. He took a deep breath as a brisk wind circled him, trying to pry him off the building.

Kaiba was glad to finally have a moment of peace - since first break this morning, which albeit was only two lessons ago, he had been constantly plagued by the Mutt. He was exhausted. If this was what it was like having a single full time friend, Kaiba didn't know how anyone could put up with being popular. He looked down, subconsciously scanning the grounds for a sign of the Mutt, when--

"Hello, Buddy!"

Kaiba jerked up in surprise, swivelling round to glare at the blonde head emerging from the hatch leading to the roof.

"Mutt, how the _hell _did you find me!"

"I followed you." Jou replied, shrugging, before holding a brown paper bag up. "No one should be alone at lunch! Its unheard of!"

Kaiba's eye noticeably twitched as he moved to crouch by the open hatch. Giving the blonde a blank smirk his hand shot out and shoved him back. Curses were heard as Jou tumbled down the steps beneath the roof. Kaiba faced the fence again, smirking to himself; it was good to be evil.

This, however, lasted only a second.

"Hey, Moneybags!"

The CEO turned in response to the mocking tone, wondering how the Mutt had managed to scramble back up that quickly, when said Mutt launched at him full force, knocking him to the ground. Taken by surprise, the brunette flipped the other boy off him with exaggerated force, taking him back to square one; pinned under Jou. He tried to throw him off again but the hands pushing down on his shoulders were doing so with surprising strength. Kaiba narrowed his eyes angrily, practically hissing.

"_Mutt, what the hell are you doing?"_

In response, Jou lowered his face closer to Kaiba's own, looking up at him in a somewhat devilish manner, a freakishly Kaiba-like smirk upon his lips. The brunette's own eyes flew open as he felt the all too familiar tightening in his chest; curse this boy who's damn near given him a heart attack for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day!

Jou slowly parted his lips, lowering himself just a little further, making _the _Kaiba actually shrink back into the gravel, almost choking on air. A moment on, however, his usual carefree smile was back on his face as he sat up innocently. He spoke in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Well, apparently this is the only way to get your attention."

Kaiba cocked an eyebrow, resisting the urge to both throttle and ravage the boy that still sat on him on the spot.

"…y'know, fighting!

Kaiba raised himself up as far as he could, provided the boy still sat on top of him, his expression deadpan.

"…"

"You are _so _going to regret that!"

The CEO growled and leapt forward, thrusting the blonde back, making his head knock off the brick chimney behind him. Jounouchi grimaced at the impact, but it was forgotten as he felt Kaiba's lips descend on his own. His breath caught and his body arched forward as the contact broke. His eyes opened to meet an intense icy blue. Everything within him called out to the other and he whispered breathlessly.

"Seto…"

* * *

**Hehe, I love being evil! What? Torturing characters is fun! I liked the start of this chapter, but it took me over a month to actually get round to writing the rest - so sorry if tis iffy! Hope tis alright though…Anyways, thankees for all the reviews! I love them all!**

**Special thankees to: _Flame Swordswoman _& _Chika of the high Mts _& _Sakusha Saelbu _& _Misura _(I'm SO honoured!) &-- right that's it, just thank you to everyone that's reviewed! You're the reason I'm so happy!**

**Further reading for anyone interested:**

_**nezumi baka neko**_

**_(replace the spaces with underscores)_**

_**A friend's and my joint account! **_

**THANK YOU, I'LL UPDATE ASAP!**

**Later! **

**#keito#**


	6. Vacation

**Outside**

**Chapter 6**

"Mutt? Yo Mutt, wake up…"

"Seto?…"

Jounouchi squinted up at a shining light amidst the clear blue sky, until the brunette's blurry silhouette eclipsed it. His vision shifted, disoriented.

"Pup, stay with me, c'mon. How many fingers am I holding up?"

Three fuzzy digits moved jerkily into view. The boy frowned and took a breath.

"…eight?"

"Close enough. You're fine, try sitting up."

Reluctantly, Jou pushed himself up, then wishing he hadn't when the world around him began to spin.

"Whoa-" the boy moaned, instantly falling back but being caught by Kaiba before he could do himself any further damage.

"Easy Mutt, you don't have a concussion but-"

The blonde's eyes jerked wide open, the arm supporting his back suddenly conjuring forth a memory--

"The kiss!" He exclaimed, sitting up a little too quickly again and, of course, collapsing back down. He winced as this time he hit gravel. Above him Kaiba raised an eyebrow, propping the blonde up anew as he asked, sighing.

"What?"

Jounouchi shuffled, feathers still a little too ruffled to stop him giving a straightforward reply.

"You kissed me!" He exclaimed once more, before getting a chance to shut his mouth. Now both of Kaiba's eyebrows raised up, betraying a moment of surprise, and he commented, deadpan.

"…Yea, I take that back. You do have a concussion."

Jou blinked, beginning to feel a little more like himself.

"I retaliated and you fell back into that chimney over there," Kaiba gestured the direction with his head. "Hit your head and blacked out for a couple of minutes. That's all."

"Oh, sorry…"

"You should be, your guard's terrible."

The brunette raised his arm a little, gently in case the Mutt was still recovering. He tilted his head curiously as Jou slumped forth into what could possibly pass as a sitting position.

"So, you dreamt up I kissed you?"

The blonde winced, soft rose flushing across his cheeks. Damn, so he hadn't forgotten…

"…"

"…"

"What!"

Kaiba shrugged innocently.

"Nothing, I just didn't think _friends _dreamed of _kissing _each other."

"No fair, I hit my head - you said so yourself! That's the only reason a notion _that _disturbing would even-"

"So you're not secretly in love with me?"

Jou blushed harder at this.

"Of course not!"

"Funny, you looked pretty content lying there smiling like you were."

"…You know what, I think I still feel dizzy." Jou remarked curtly, frowning stubbornly to the side, evidently trying to put a stop to the conversation.

Kaiba sighed, standing up and dusting himself off.

"Well, might as well get you home then."

"Home? What about last period?" Jou asked, taking the offered hand gratefully. He noticed a strangely familiar fluttering in his stomach as he was lifted to his feet, close to Kaiba. He hurriedly released his hand.

"Well, thanks to _somebody _napping as long as they did, we've managed to successfully miss most of the lesson." the brunette stretched his arms, completely ignoring the glare Jou shot him. "Rather pointless to show up now. Come on."

Jounouchi tried to follow after the blue billowing coat but was hit by a sudden spell, making him almost collapse. He steadied himself against the brick pillar as Kaiba took a few more steps forward before noticing the Mutt's absence. He tread back.

"Alright, now what's wrong?"

Jou raised his face to meet the brunette's eyes, then promptly shlomped forward. Catching him and rolling his eyes, out of habit more than anything else, Kaiba supported the boy and began their lengthy, and no doubt irritating decent back to earth.

----------------------------------------------

Well, that concludes this chapter! #ducks flying orange# Okay okay, I'm sorry! I know this one was very short and feh and et cetera, but I wanted to post it and was too tired to write any more! Waah, pity me, dammit! Oh, and sorry to anyone who thought they'd actually kissed – heh, I do so love to torture characters. Besides, anyone who knows me would tell you that I never let them have too much fun, the poor guys…but hey, this time I might, ne?

…uh, and if that little rant didn't scare you off, then please review! Tis very much appreciated!

With that, I bid ye all thank you, and good nite!

#keito#


	7. Rollercoaster

**Hurray! I've finally updated! A miracle, I know! BUT today IS my birthday, and 3 AM, so I figured; hey, why not: ) Anyways, once again I'm really sorry about the severe shortness of this chapter – but I can't seem to be able to write more atm;; Oh, and for reference, in this fic you gotta be 18 to drive…yea, just go along with it, koi: ) thanks! hope you like it…**

**Outside**

**Chapter 7**

Jounouchi frowned.

"Uh, Kaiba? I know I'm the one that's hit his head, but isn't the exit kinda…_that_ way?" he asked, looking around towards the clearly marked gates to be sure.

"Yup." Kaiba replied, not even pausing his stride. Jou caught up with him, still confused.

"Then…_why_ are we heading in _this_ direction?" they passed a sign reading 'Car Park'.

"Because, Pup, I don't wanna have to carry my bag round all day." Kaiba answered taking a set of keys from his pocket and clicking a button to make a dark blue Jaguar flash in reply. Ignoring Jou's stunned expression he proceeded to deposit his suitcase inside the vehicle and flicking the little button to lock it again.

"Shall we go?"

The blonde's dumbstruck expression went from the car to Kaiba's face.

"…?"

"_You have a Jag?"_

"…I'm sorry, have I not introduced you two?" he asked sarcastically.

"You…but, you…don't you gotta be 18 to drive?"

"…your point…?"

"You aren't-"

"Birthday was last month. Shall we?" Kaiba now strode from the school, Jounouchi as always having to catch up.

"But, I only turned 17 this year!" when he was ignored, Jou carried on. "When's your birthday?"

Now there was a question Seto Kaiba didn't hear very often. Well, not outside those annoying little form things, anyway.

"Well?"

"Um, 25th. October."

Jou sidled a look at his companion, noticing a slight frown on his features, eyes cast down towards the pavement. Jou had the sudden impulsion to 'aww!' at him, but quickly suppressed the urge, skilfully muffling it by a soft chuckle as he stretched out his arms.

"What's the matter? Surprised I wasn't spawned?"

Jounouchi turned at that remark, this time meeting cold blue eyes with a familiar angry glint in them. Taken aback he stopped for a second, then frowned angrily himself and grabbed the brunette's sleeve, dragging him into a walled park to their right instead. Several paces into the grass Kaiba turned to face the blonde, expressionless. Jou shoved him, trying to elicit some kind of response.

"What the hell is your problem! One minute you almost seem like a decent guy, the next you're back to being a cold-hearted bastard!" This was just like before, the same anger from every fight they'd ever had; why the hell did this guy piss him off so much! "Dammit, answer me!"

Before Jounouchi could raise a hand to push him again Kaiba had both of them held securely by the wrists. A swift second of suspense washed over the blonde's face as his breath choked in his throat. Kaiba leant forward, almost touching the boy's face with his own. Jou remained transfixed as the ice blue eyes flicked down to his quivering lips, then back up to gaze honestly into his wide frightened orbs. Even through their small contact, Kaiba could feel the blonde's body tense up, see his narrow shoulders shrug apprehensively; but tense as he was then, the feeling expanded sevenfold when Kaiba closed the gap.

**Well, hope you liked it! #ducks tomato# jeez, where'd you people keep getting those! ;; um, anyways yes! I apologise and promise to update soon! If you've read this far #(thank you!)# then please review so I know that at least someone has!**

**Also, BIG thank you to markyc58 for the review – I was just half way through Shakespeare coursework (yes, at 4am ¬ ¬;…) when I got it, and it cheered me up SO much! And thank you to all the other reviewers! I love you all so much! n n**

**(oh, and I didn't have time to proof-read this so I apologise for any mistakes!)**

**I bid ye all Nite Nite! **

**#keito#**


	8. Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

Outside

**Hey! Long time no see, right? Sorry….I know I've not updated this in like, years….quite literally XD I do hope you will forgive me. Especially since I found this chapter lying about on my computer… there were like, 2 versions of it, but I really can't remember where I was going on the other one, so I hope this one will do ******** I know its extremely short, but I'll try and update soon….**

**Yes, I know I always say that. Anyway, if you read this please review – even if its just to rant about how crap it was! Its nice to know that someone at least reads this stuff : )**

**Keito**

**Outside**

**Chapter 8**

Before Jounouchi could raise a hand to push him again Kaiba had both of them held securely by the wrists. A swift second of suspense washed over the blonde's face as his breath choked in his throat. Kaiba leant forward, almost touching the boy's face with his own. Jou remained transfixed as the ice blue eyes flicked down to his quivering lips, then back up to gaze honestly into his wide frightened orbs. Even through their small contact, Kaiba could feel the blonde's body tense up, see his narrow shoulders shrug apprehensively; but tense as he was then, the feeling expanded sevenfold when Kaiba closed the gap.

Kaiba's lips crushed against Jou's, his eyes shut; the blonde's alight with shock. A gasp escaped Jounouchi's lips, leaving them slightly parted. Kaiba immediately took advantage of this, plunging an eager tongue through the small gap and successfully eliciting catches of breath from his partner. The blonde's body responded, his knees buckling in as he collapsed - in an instant Kaiba's arms circled to the base of his spine, stopping the fall as the boy clutched to the other's shirt.

The kiss parted and both now stood, panting softly in the insane position. Jou's glazed eyes sharpened and his gaze snapped up to meet the cold awaiting blue.

Alarm exploded on the blonde's face and he pounced back, trying to get away; as he was still entangled in an extra pairs of arms, however, he only succeeded in falling back on the grass. He tried to scuttle back, crablike, raising the back of one hand to cover his mouth. Kaiba, crouched before him, could see him trembling. Jou's wide eyes stayed fixed on his as he moved fluidly into his personal space again, Jou making one more vain attempt to scuttle. But he was trapped. Kaiba's body hovered over his, pale blue eyes looking gently into quivering amber as slowly, a hand moved to push Jou's away from his lips. The brunette leaned in slowly, again closing the gap and now Jounouchi succumbed, eyelids fluttering down listlessly. A hand moved delicately to tangle with another. A tongue flicked out to brush tentatively against soft lips that now opened to it. The blonde let out a soft moan, head leaning back, Kaiba's slender digits running over the back of his neck to give support and send shiver after rippling shiver through the boy.

Heated, the two now clutched at each other, trying to draw as close as they could, but still never close enough. Hungry lips and tongue attacked in a flurry of passionate delves and nips, needing more. Hands grabbed at each other's clothing, clawed through their hair urgently until the pair had to break for air.

Both sat, gasping and unfulfilled, lips swollen, cheeks flushed. Their eyes met and the blush deepened. Rather than face what had just happened, the two simply held on to each other. Jou breathed in Kaiba, almost shaking because he smelt so _alive_. They sat still to catch their breath, gazing at the still park over a foreign shoulder.

Both felt something which tasted a lot like regret sink to their stomach.


End file.
